Chapter 273: Bones Smashed into Powder

Chapter 273: Bones Smashed into Powder

Nora looked at Michael with a complex gaze, the way she pulled away making him feel a surge of fear.

Aria finally settled down and turned to leave the room where Hayden was sleeping.


"Brian, I'm sorry you had to see that." Victoria held her phone, completely exhausted, her voice heavy with fatigue.

She felt like she was on the verge of collapsing, so she pressed her fingers against the cold wall, forcing herself to stay on her feet.

She couldn't fall. She couldn't fall.

Even though her final fate was also to fall—to follow Hayden to heaven.

She had to stay strong just long enough to say her final goodbye to Hayden and make sure Aria was safe.

Only then could she leave with peace of mind, forever and completely disappear.

Brian's voice came through the phone: "Mrs. Collins, I just heard about Mr. Gonzalez's passing. My condolences."

Condolences.

So many people had offered their condolences that day.

But how could she accept condolences? How could she possibly accept them?

Victoria pressed her lips together and stayed silent.

Because she didn't know what to say either.

The atmosphere fell into a brief awkward silence.

"Mrs. Collins, is there anything I can help with? If there is, please don't hesitate to ask." Brian stated his purpose.

Victoria's voice was hoarse: "Tomorrow is only the first day of the new year. You should stay home with your family. I don't want to trouble you."

"Mrs. Collins, Mr. Gonzalez was a kind man and treated me well when he was alive. Please let me see him off one last time. I want to do something for him. Please give me this chance." Brian pleaded.

Victoria thought it over and realized there actually was something she needed his help with.


"Could you come be our driver tomorrow? Tomorrow I want to take my father to the crematorium, and then back to his hometown to be buried." Victoria asked.

Hayden had once said that when he got old, he wanted to find a peaceful resting place and return to the mountains with their green waters to be buried.

He wanted to be buried together with his parents.

Hayden came from a very poor background, but in college, he met Aria, whose family was well-off.

They got married and loved each other for all these years.

The Clark family initially looked down on Hayden's roots, mocking Aria and calling her crazy for picking a poor boy like him.


Luckily, Hayden was driven. To provide for his wife and daughter, he clawed his way through the business world and built his own success from the ground up.

The Gonzalez Group was founded by Hayden from scratch.
Victoria had always respected men like Hayden—highly successful, deeply loyal, and completely devoted to his family.

Victoria had always respected men like Hayden—highly successful, deeply loyal, and completely devoted to his family.

Victoria saw her father's shadow in Martin.

But she hadn't inherited her mother's luck. She picked the wrong man, lost everything, and ended up bringing the entire Gonzalez family down with her.

Without comparison, there's no hurt.

It turned out that not every ambitious, talented guy from a humble background was cut from the same cloth as Hayden.

Life had completely shattered Victoria's innocence.

The next day.

Victoria sat in front of Hayden, keeping watch all night.

She looked at Hayden's features, looked at his body.

Each look meant one less chance to see him.

So she wanted to look as much as possible.

It was a holiday, so all the servants were at home.

The Gonzalez Villa was freezing and hollow, with only Aria and Victoria left inside.

A car horn sounded.

Soon, Brian entered the room dressed in a suit, escorted by several strong bodyguards.

"Mrs. Collins." Brian looked at the thin Victoria and spoke heavily.

He had come on Martin's orders.

But Martin had told him to keep it secret.

Martin figured Victoria probably wouldn't want anything to do with him. He was worried she'd refuse Brian’s help with Hayden’s funeral if she knew the truth, so he decided that keeping things quiet was the safest bet.

Aria was dressed all in black, her eyes swollen from crying.

Brian had the bodyguards carefully carry Hayden's body out of the room and down the spiral staircase.

Victoria supported Aria, walking behind them.

In her other hand, Victoria held a photo of Hayden from happier times—a black-bordered memorial portrait, his smile directed at her and her mother.

Particularly piercing.

Brian had brought a hundred cars to escort Victoria to the funeral.

Victoria and Aria rode in the lead car.

After Martin saw this from his car, he followed from a distance, driving alone.

He was like a lonely follower, following in Victoria's footsteps.

At the crematorium.

An oppressive, solemn, and suffocating weight crashed over them.

They held a farewell ceremony.

Victoria watched as Hayden was pushed into the furnace.

"I want to go in and see." Victoria said.

The crematorium staff looked at her uneasily: "Ms. Gonzalez, it's too cruel."

"I want to see my father off one last time. Please." Victoria pleaded.

Finally, Victoria entered the viewing room.

She could clearly see the specific process of Hayden being cremated.

Of course, Aria followed her in.

Hayden's stomach was cut open with a sharp steel blade.

The flames began burning from his hair and burial garment.

The fire grew bigger and stronger.

Aria covered her mouth, crying: "Victoria, you don't know yet—today is mine and your father's wedding anniversary. Twenty-some years ago today, your father was so handsome, holding my hand, getting our marriage certificate. We truly became husband and wife."

Victoria bit her lip, which was already chapped.

As she bit down, blood flowed out.

So today was Hayden and Aria's wedding anniversary. Being cremated on their wedding anniversary—ironic and suffocating.

"When we first started dating, your grandparents tried to stop us too. They didn't want me to suffer, but I insisted on marrying your father. I was willing to live a hard life with him. Your father was a very, very good man. He and Martin are worlds apart, completely different men."

"I can't be sad, can't cry. If your father sees it, he won't rest in peace. We have to send him off happily."

Aria wiped her tears, trying hard to smile.

Victoria held Aria's hand, giving her strength: "Mom, don't be afraid. You still have me. I'll be like Dad, give you strength, protect you, and not let you suffer."

"Okay." Aria nodded, her eyes red.

Victoria watched for a whole hour.

Watching Hayden's body gradually burn from intact flesh to just a few bones.

When she died, she would be burned like this too.

When Hayden died, she and her mother were there to watch.

But when she died, who would be there to see her off like this?

Probably only her mother.

She couldn't die here, couldn't make Aria sad and heartbroken.

Better to die far away where no one knew.

The cremation ended.

Victoria watched the workers take a hammer and strike a few times, instantly smashing the bones into pieces, turning them into gray bone powder.

Then they placed it in an expensive urn.

It was as if the hammer wasn't striking Hayden's bones, but Victoria's heart, her internal organs.

She hurt so much she could barely breathe, so oppressed she was about to collapse, but she couldn't collapse. Hayden still needed to be laid to rest.

Holding the urn, Victoria walked out of the funeral building expressionless, unusually calm.

Martin, also dressed in black, stood in the crowd.

Victoria spotted Martin right away, and he saw her too. His eyes were sorrowful and complex as they met hers across the sea of people.